The Story of a Spoiled Daughter Raising a Husband

On stage, Tong Qian looked disheveled. After hearing that her husband had died on the battlefield, tears welled up in her delicate eyes, and she slumped to the ground in a daze. Her despair and desolation were palpable.

Soft sobs rose from the crowd, and even the troupe leader's eyes were red as he was deeply moved, his gaze towards Tong Qian now filled with admiration.

Tong Qian wiped away her tears, took a deep breath to pull herself back, and walked off the stage with Ji Xiuping.

"What do you think?"

Before everyone could recover, the person on stage was already beside them, and her question was met with almost no objections.

Tong Qian glanced at them briefly, "Then you shall do as I just said."

"Okay." The troupe leader made the decision.

“Your name also needs to be changed,” Tong Qian said. “Let’s call it the Drama Troupe, which won’t be too different from the previous one.”

Still reeling from the shocking scene, everyone readily agreed.

The sun had set halfway down the mountain. Ji Xiuping told Tong Qian to wait for him in the shop while he went to drive the donkey cart.

Just as she was about to turn around, her clothes were gently tugged.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

Tong Qian smiled and said, "I'll take you somewhere."

It was getting late, and by the time they got back it would be completely dark. It was rare to see her so interested, so Ji Xiuping really couldn't bring himself to refuse.

"What is this?" Ji Xiuping looked up at the plaque hanging above, with the huge characters "Bookstore".

"Come on, let's go inside and take a look." Tong Qian pulled him inside.

The bookshelves, layer upon layer, exuded the scent of ink. Tong Qian struggled to read these traditional Chinese characters, so we simply let him look at them on his own.

The dividend he received at the teahouse yesterday was quite generous, but Ji Xiuping, who is always frugal, only took one book.

Back home, I read it carefully by the moonlight.

Tong Qian came out of the house and saw him sitting on the wooden stool outside the door, holding the book in his hands.

The room beside me was pitch black.

"Let's go to my room," Tong Qian said, then pursed her lips and added, "I want to discuss something with you."

The first half of the sentence made Ji Xiuping blush, and after hearing the second half, he took the book and went inside.

The dim lamplight flickered on and off as the two sat facing each other at the table, blocking out most of the light.

After considering for a while, Tong Qian said, "Go and study."

Ji Xiuping remained silent.

“I know you want to ease the burden on your family, but Xiuping, are you content with this?” Tong Qian’s eyes swayed in the lamplight. “For children from poor families, studying is the only way to achieve your ambitions. If you stay here, you will only be a mediocre person for the rest of your life.”

After a long pause, Tong Qian continued slowly, "It's my fault for holding you back. If it weren't for this, you would have already achieved great success, but I've become a stumbling block for you."

Ji Xiuping's handsome face suddenly lifted up, "Qian'er..."

He wanted to say something, but when he met Tong Qian's gaze, he suppressed it. After about half an incense stick's time, he finally spoke, "These were all my own free will. No one forced me. Don't blame yourself too much."

"But I want you to be someone superior to others."

With just a few simple words, the flickering candlelight seemed to freeze. Tong Qian's expression was resolute, while Ji Xiuping, separated by the candlelight, slowly took a breath and said, "Okay."

After several days of running around, Tong Qian finally got a good night's sleep.

After breakfast, Tong Qian took out her purse from under her pillow, emptied it out, counted the money carefully, and then cautiously stuffed it into her chest.

Ji Xiuping agreed to go to school yesterday, and Tong Qian had been planning about it since then. Now that she had some spare money, it would be better to hire a tutor, at least it wouldn't be a waste of time and effort.

There are several old scholars in the town, and she has to personally go and find one.

She tried to choose the side paths, too lazy to deal with the inquisitive villagers, whose words would spread like wildfire and cause unnecessary trouble.

On the long ridge between the fields, Tong Qian shielded her eyes with her hand, gazing in the direction of the village entrance.

Ji Xiuping wasn't home, and she didn't know how to drive a donkey cart, so she could only ride in someone else's donkey cart to get to town.

Ahead was a small hill, and at its foot, a winding path led Tong Qian to the soft grass, where she felt quite content.

"Yo, who is this?"

That annoying voice rang in my ears.

Tong Qian felt her good mood instantly shattered. She didn't want to look at her and tried to walk past the person.

When she moved left, Ruyan followed her to the left; when she moved right, Ruyan followed her to the right.

After several exchanges, Tong Qian barely suppressed the urge to beat her up and smiled gently, "A good dog doesn't block the way."

Ruyan stood in front of her with her hands on her hips, looking smug and self-satisfied. Upon hearing this, she was like a grasshopper whose foot had been stepped on, almost jumping up, "Who are you talking about!"

"I'll talk about whoever's in front of me." Tong Qian still smiled, a stark contrast to Ru Yan's angry and stomping appearance.

"You!" Just as she was about to explode with anger, she caught a glimpse of a figure out of the corner of her eye.

Her body went limp, and she collapsed in front of Tong Qian, clutching her ankles and whimpering softly.

An old woman carrying a vegetable basket came over. "Oh dear, what's wrong?"

Tong Qian took a few steps back, but still couldn't shake off this clingy pest, and couldn't help but sneer inwardly.

When Ruyan saw the person who came, her cries became even more pitiful.

"Aunt Wang, I'm fine, ouch~" Ruyan's eyes reddened, and she bit her lip, sobbing pitifully, "It was my fault, it has nothing to do with Qianqian."

Upon hearing this, Aunt Wang quickly put down her vegetable basket, squatted down, and asked, "What exactly happened? Oh dear, it takes a hundred days to recover from a bone injury, and you're a young girl with a weak constitution. What are we going to do?"

"Yes, it was my own carelessness," Ruyan said, covering her face with one hand and sobbing softly. "I saw something I shouldn't have seen. It's all my fault."

"Huh?" Aunt Wang sensed something unusual and, naturally, wouldn't let it go, pressing for details, "What did you see?"

Ruyan looked up timidly at Tong Qian, then fearfully pulled the tube back into her hand.

Anyone who didn't know better would think they were bullying her.

Seeing this, Aunt Wang stepped forward with her strong body to block him, patted her chest and assured him, "Don't be afraid. With me, Aunt Wang, here, no one will dare to do anything to you. Tell me your story in detail, and I will definitely stand up for you."

Tong Qian watched the two perform like they were watching a monkey show, her arms crossed over her chest, wondering what tricks they would come up with this time.

In her memory, Ru Yan had unfairly labeled her with a lot of accusations, but the original owner was a coward who only knew how to cry and let Ru Yan throw mud at her.

This time, however, Tong Qian treated it as a free show and didn't get angry or upset at being wronged.

"Qianqian, if you apologize to me, I won't tell anyone else about this. After all, it won't sound good if word gets out," Ruyan said, looking like she was considering her feelings. Her eyes were red but she didn't shed a single tear. Tong Qian looked at her coldly, and Ruyan sighed, "I've tolerated how you used to bully me, but today, you can't blame me."